At Hockey Sverige, Uffe Bodin is upset that Henrik Lundqvist was not nominated for the Jerring Prize which is the most prestigious Swedish athletic award and is voted on by the Swedish People.

Bodin writes that the NHL audience in Sweden is shrinking and that he feels that Lundqvist has fallen into the same category of Red Wings legend Nicklas Lidstrom who (with 7 Norris Trophies, a Conn Smythe, 4 Stanley Cup Rings and 11 All-Star Game appearances) doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves in his home country.

He says that it took until the Gold Medal game in 2006, where Lidstrom scored the game winner, for people to start appreciating him and allow him to be a “household name”

On Lundqvist, Bodin says, “being appointed to the NHL’s best goalie is reasonably the same as appointed to the best goalkeeper in the world. Is it the best hockey goalie in the world and also play in one of the world’s great metropolises, New York, then you are a damn good ambassador for Sweden. Probably a better and more important than any ambassador who wins the Olympics / World Cup / European Championship medal in an obscure sport that rarely see the light of day.”